Albums: Dwelling of Duels: Forest vs. Jungle Month (May 2025)
That’s my purse! I don’t know you!
Artist(s): Cyril the Wolf, minusworld, Nalani “Unfocused in IA” Proctor, Roland N. Laracuente Martínez, Xander Plute
Game(s): Xenoblade Chronicles X
Reviews
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A maximalist track with heavy guitar work and really great flute. The shift to the guitar is a nice change, and the guitar tone in the next section fits really well with the high wind. Bass is solid. Woodwind sound is cool. Choir pads and tenor voices adding to the epic sound also! But to me the star is really that high woodwind.
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DANGIT BOBBY! Ok now that the joke is out of the way, this one bursts out of the gate with some orchestral epicness. Though the balance feels off, the flute and the drums come through pretty well but everything under that feels a little muddled to start. Strings help balance it a bit, but it becomes better when the guitars come in and we transition to the second section – and the style shifts. Really digging the mallet and flute interplay – and then the build as the other voices jump back in. Nice touch with the addition of the vocals about halfway through. This one just continues to build and build, and then the addition of the vocals with lyrics helps punch through to the end.
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This sounds like it’s gonna be a great closer. Did you do this on purpose anon? Oh dang SICK bass playing. And flute!? Awesome. I like the way the orchestra is sounding. I feel the rhythm guitars might be a tad mid-heavy. Oh shoot, is that a FUNKY FLUTE SOLO? Super cool. Oh and now we’re adding some “ahh” vocals too, of course, why not? The vocals sound lovely here. Bass sounds a tad mid-heavy at 2:39. Maybe you could bring out the bass attack more right there. Sometimes you have to automate in a whole new effect just for one part.
DUDE. The vocals at 3:01 is an excellent payoff. And that flute melody is really great. THAT is a way to end a month. Thank you anons.
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Going for epic grand finale for sure. Arrangement definitely doesn’t shy away from this. Mix is honestly pretty busy right from the rip, there’s a lot of bright frequencies clashing between the guitars and drums and even the bass, and the more orchestral elements in the background get very buried and hard to make out as a result. Oooo groove at 0:50 got some stank. Love the acoustic break. The following section is definitely easier to digest but it still feels fairly muddy. Bass playing is top notch. Arrangement and performances in this one are honestly crazy, and a lot of the mudiness of the mix can be easily forgiven in favor of the ambition, but I’d really really love if the mix could be balanced further, it could elevate this so much. Also I don’t really understand the relevance of King of the Hill in that title???? But honestly I haven’t played this game so I wouldn’t know (and neither have I actually watched KOTH)
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A massive, full and powerful sound, just the way I like it. Great mix of heavy and atmospheric. Great clarity too despite a lot going on. Flute feels perhaps a tiny bit overcompressed in the high notes at times. Personally I prefer to level the volume of unruly winds with melodyne and thus have to use a little bit less compression, but that’s a minor gripe in an overall fantastic track. The vocals caught me by surprise in a good way. Chef’s kiss.
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That’s such a good idea to use Melodyne instead. Thanks for the tip!
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I was too agog to leave a review during the LP like I did for many others.
There’s a LOT going on with this track but to me everything comes through very well.
The acoustic guitar break I wish was a little quieter than the rest of it – there wasn’t quite enough of a drop in dynamic to my ears compared to the rest – like the section after it crescendos had more of a difference but I really feel like if it cuts down to just acoustic guitar it should come down quite a bit
I had to listen to this a few times to process it which is maybe a good thing – suppose ear candy can never hurt.
The 3:16 climax is godly with the woodwind and vocals all coming together. The female and male vocals just … chefs kiss!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Whole lot of everything in this one. Mix is a bit busy but not offensively so. Honestly never been a fan of this style of music. It’s a bit much for me. But this is very well done. Flutes sound great. Vocals that come in sound rad. Very very good execution anon
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We close the month with metal! Nice. I’m not that sold on the mixing during the first minute or so, there’s a lot going on and I have a bit of a hard time trying to keep up with all the different parts. Love the bass riff though, great tone. Break around a minute in is appreciated and it switches nicely to a guitar/flute duet. There’s a ton of variation and a lot of different instruments featured, really cool. I love the section around 1:40 that focuses only on flute, percussion and a mallet. Surprise vocals around 2 minutes in! I’m not sure if this is actually possible but the mix has improved as the track progresses. Even more vocals around 3 minutes, awesome! This one does a great job building up and delivering on an epic climax. I wasn’t really convinced on the first minute but it eventually become pretty cool.
Overall, awesome job! I think the mix could use some cleaning up in general for extra clarity, but the arrangement is super cool. Potentially a medal contender.
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